Bored with the usual slaws? The mayo-doused number at the deli or your aunt's vinegared version?
Don't fret. We've dug up recipes that get to the root of your problem — which is that cabbage is so 245 years ago. The koolsla recipes the Dutch brought to this country circa 1770 used cabbage. And that's been pretty much the base for coleslaws ever since.
But chefs and culinary pros like to tinker with classic recipes, so they're using beets, kohlrabi, carrots, fennel, celery root. All are sturdy, colorful, flavorful. All have slaw potential.
The fennel slaw served with a roasted fish sandwich at Found Kitchen and Social House in Evanston, Ill., began with a rethinking of classic coleslaw, explained Nicole Pederson, the restaurant's executive chef and partner.
“We call it a slaw because it's raw vegetables all sliced very thinly,” she said. Shaved fennel is mixed with ribbons shaved from different colors of baby carrots. A bit of napa cabbage is added along with pickled onions, and it's finished with lemon juice and olive oil.
What sets these new slaws apart from their salad siblings is the shredded or thinly sliced ingredients, said cookbook author Rick Rodgers, whose recent “The Big Book of Sides” (Ballantine Books), features several slaw recipes, including one that teams kohlrabi with almonds and apples.
He suggests cutting raw vegetables 1⁄4-inch or, sometimes, 1⁄8-inch thick. “Slices have to be small enough to be tender without cooking.”
That thin slicing and crunch from raw vegetables make these updated slaws a perfect accompaniment to so many dishes, summer's grilled meats and fish among them. It's a good way to add a fun texture to a meal, said Pederson: “When they're shredded, they seem so much lighter.”
What about dressings? Well, there are no rules. “Except for the fact you have to kind of bow to regional or family preferences,” Rodgers said, citing a diner coleslaw popular in New Jersey that marinates all of the vegetables in a sweet-and-sour vinaigrette. “By sweet, I mean they're almost pickled.”
Judy Hevrdejs is a staff writer with the Chicago Tribune.
Raw Beet Slaw With Fennel, Tart Apple and Parsley
Diane Morgan, author of “Roots,” (Chronicle Books) suggests serving this at a barbecue, at brunch with cured salmon or alongside country pate. Use a mandoline or a sharp chef's knife to cut the beets into matchsticks. Use disposable surgical gloves, or you'll end up with red hands.
Prep time: 25 minutes
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon each fresh lemon juice and freshly grated orange zest
1⁄2 teaspoon each honey and fine sea salt
1⁄8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium red beet (3 to 5 ounces), peeled, cut into matchsticks
1⁄2 fennel bulb, trimmed, halved lengthwise, cored, cut into matchsticks
1⁄2 medium crisp tart apple such as Granny Smith, cored, cut into matchsticks
1⁄2 cup firmly packed chopped, fresh flatleaf parsley
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, orange zest, honey, salt and pepper. In a medium bowl, toss together the beet, fennel, apple and parsley. Add the dressing. Mix gently to coat the ingredients evenly. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Remove the slaw from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. Slaw can be made up to 8 hours in advance. Presentation note: If you don't serve the slaw immediately and want to prevent the beets from tinting the fennel, keep the beets separate (dressed with half the dressing) and mix them in right before serving.
Makes 4 servings.
Nutrition per serving: 128 calories, 10 grams fat (1 gram saturated), 0 cholesterol, 1 gram protein, 9 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams dietary fiber, 386 milligrams sodium
Carrot Slaw With Miso Vinaigrette
Rick Rodgers, author of “The Big Book of Sides,” (Ballantine Books) serves this with Asian-style grilled meats, poultry or seafood. He's a fan of miso and writes that it's “one of the most flavor-packed ingredients in my kitchen because a little goes a long way.” Miso brings deep umami notes to this.
Prep time: 15 minutes
For the vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon white miso
1⁄2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 clove garlic
1⁄2 cup vegetable oil
For the slaw:
1 pound carrots, trimmed
1 green onion, white and green parts, finely chopped
1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Sesame seeds, for garnish
To prepare the vinaigrette: Process the vinegar, miso, soy sauce and garlic in a blender. With the machine running, gradually add the oil through the hole in the lid. Or, crush the garlic through a garlic press into a medium bowl. Add the vinegar, miso and soy sauce; whisk until combined. Gradually whisk in the oil.
To prepare the slaw: In a food processor fitted with the coarse shredding blade, shred the carrots. Do not shred the carrots too fine. If your food processor has only a fine shredding disk, use a V-slicer to julienne the carrots into strips less than 1⁄8-inch wide. In a medium bowl, toss the carrots, green onion and vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper. The slaw can be covered and refrigerated up to 8 hours. Serve it chilled or at room temperature. Top each serving with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
Makes 4 servings.
Nutrition per serving: 300 calories, 29 grams fat (2 grams saturated), 0 cholesterol, 2 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams dietary fiber, 512 milligrams sodium
Kohlrabi With Creamy Herb and Avocado Dressing
Adapted from “Vegetable Literacy” by Deborah Madison (Ten Speed Press), who notes you may not use all of the fresh herb dressing. Extra can be used as a dip for vegetables.
Prep time: 25 minutes
4 or 5 small kohlrabies, about 1 pound
1⁄2 avocado
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons apple-cider vinegar
1⁄3 cup sour cream or yogurt
1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more if needed
1 1⁄2 tablespoons finely chopped tarragon
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley or chervil
1 tablespoon slivered chives, plus more for garnish
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
If the kohlrabies are young and tender, you don't need to peel them. If they are older and less than tender, slice off the skins. Cut the kohlrabies into fine julienne. An effective way to do this is to slice them thinly on a mandoline, then stack the slices and cut the slices into matchsticks.
For the dressing, peel and slice the avocado. Combine it with the oil, vinegar, sour cream and salt in a food processor; puree until smooth. Stir in the tarragon, parsley and chives; taste for salt and season with pepper. Toss the kohlrabi matchsticks with just enough dressing to coat them well. Garnish with chives.
Makes 6 servings.
Nutrition per serving: 87 calories, 8 grams fat (2 grams saturated), 4 milligrams cholesterol, 1 gram protein, 3 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams dietary fiber, 127 milligrams sodium
Shaved Fennel With Arugula Crunch Salad
A sweet-sour orange gastrique balances and softens the fennel, writes Roberto Martin in “Roberto's New Vegan Cooking” (DaCapo Lifelong Books).
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 18 minutes
1⁄4 cup each: firmly packed brown sugar, maple syrup
1⁄2 cup apple-cider vinegar
Zest and juice of 2 large oranges
2 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 medium fennel bulbs, cleaned and trimmed to bulbs only, fronds chopped and reserved
1 large Granny Smith apple
1⁄3 cup chives, cut in 1⁄4-inch pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 cups baby arugula
1⁄2 cup salted, toasted sunflower seeds
For the gastrique, in a medium pan, whisk together the brown sugar, maple syrup, vinegar, orange zest and juice, cloves, cinnamon and garlic. Bring the ingredients to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer, uncovered, until the liquid is reduced by about half, about 3⁄4 cup; for about 15 minutes. Strain; set the liquid aside for immediate use or cover and refrigerate it.
Cut the fennel bulbs in half lengthwise; shave them very thin with a mandoline, starting with the tops down to the base. If you don't have a mandoline, do your best with a sharp knife. Peel, halve and core the apple, then slice it thin crosswise. In a medium bowl, toss the fennel, apple and chives with the gastrique. Season with salt and pepper. Cover; let the mixture marinate for 30 minutes to one day.
To serve, place about 1⁄4 cup of the fennel salad on a plate. Top the salad with a fat pinch of arugula and sprinkle it with sunflower seeds; top the arugula with more fennel salad and seeds. Serve immediately. Store any unused arugula separate from the fennel salad. Fennel salad is good for 5 days in the refrigerator.
Makes 4 servings.
Nutrition per serving: 272 calories, 11 grams fat (2 grams saturated), 0 milligrams cholesterol, 8 grams protein, 39 grams carbohydrates, 12 grams dietary fiber, 199 milligrams sodium
